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Development of quantitative analysis software has enabled application of several standardised uptake values (SUV) for bone analysis in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The present retrospective study aimed to develop a reliable method of monitoring bone inflammatory activity in antiresorptive agent-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (ARONJ) using SPECT quantitative analysis software. Fifteen ARONJ patients underwent SPECT before and after anti-inflammatory therapy. We calculated the mean maximum SUV (SUVmax) of the bilateral cranial bones using quantitative analysis software and used this as the control [C]. We attempted to adjust the SUVmax of the lesion [L] as follows: adjusted SUVmax (aSUVmax) = [L] - [C]. The optimum threshold to calculate the metabolic bone volume (MBV) (cm 3 ) was [C] + 3. The threshold values obtained for each case were input to calculate MBV at each osteomyelitis site. Retrospectively, we compared aSUVmax and MBV of each patient's ARONJ before and after anti-inflammatory therapy. The patients' high aSUVmax or large MBV of the ARONJ reduced rapidly, reflecting individual clinical findings after treatment. Application of SPECT quantitative analysis software to monitor bone inflammatory activity in ARONJ could improve the prognosis-deciding abilities of clinicians and enable them to treat ARONJ effectively.

Tumour blood vessels are gateways for distant metastasis. Recent studies have revealed that tumour endothelial cells (TECs) demonstrate distinct phenotypes from their normal counterparts. We have demonstrated that features of TECs are different depending on tumour malignancy, suggesting that TECs communicate with surrounding tumour cells. However, the contribution of TECs to metastasis has not been elucidated. Here, we show that TECs actively promote tumour metastasis through a bidirectional interaction between tumour cells and TECs. Co-implantation of TECs isolated from highly metastatic tumours accelerated lung metastases of low metastatic tumours. Biglycan, a small leucine-rich repeat proteoglycan secreted from TECs, activated tumour cell migration via nuclear factor-κB and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. Biglycan expression was upregulated by DNA demethylation in TECs. Collectively, our results demonstrate that TECs are altered in their microenvironment and, in turn, instigate tumour cells to metastasize, which is a novel mechanism for tumour metastasis.

We have previously purified from bovine brain cytosol a novel regulatory protein for the GTP-binding proteins of the rho gene family. This regulatory protein, designated as rho GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI), makes a complex stoichiometrically with the GDP-bound form of the rho gene products and thereby regulates the GDP/GTP exchange reaction by inhibiting the dissociation of GDP from and the subsequent binding of GTP to them. We show here that rho GDI also regulates the binding of rhoB p20, a member of the rho gene products, to various membranes including rat brain synaptic plasma membranes and human erythrocyte ghosts. Both the GDP- and GTP-bound forms of rhoB p20 bound to the membranes. This binding was not inhibited by prior treatment of the membranes with boiling or tryptic digestion, suggesting that a protein molecule of the membranes is not essential for the binding of rhoB p20 to the membranes. rho GDI inhibited the binding of the GDP-bound form of rhoB p20, but not that of the GTP-bound form, to the membranes. Moreover, rho GDI induced the dissociation of the GDP-bound form, but not that of the GTP-bound form, of rhoB p20 exogenously bound to the membranes from them. These results suggest that the rho gene products bind to the membranes, presumably in a reversible manner and that this binding is regulated by their specific GDI.